John Kasich Really Hates Being Asked About Marijuana

Marijuana is a hot topic on voters’ minds these days, and politicians are talking about legalization more than ever before. But one presidential contender clearly dislikes being asked about cannabis.

“Because I’m running for president I should have to answer a question like that?” Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a candidate for the Republican nomination, said when asked if he’s ever smoked marijuana during an interview with WWJ Newsradio in Detroit on Tuesday.

“I mean, I did, but let me ask you this: What is the relevance of what I might have done 30 years ago? I mean, this is not what matters when we pick a president,” Kasich continued. “You know, I did smoke marijuana when I was younger. But there’s gonna be a limit to the kind of ‘gotcha’ questions I’m gonna answer as we go forward in this campaign.”

With respect to the question of legalization, Kasich said, “It is a very, very bad thing to do.”

This isn’t the first time Kasich has appeared annoyed to be asked about marijuana.

In an interview with attn: late last year, he said, “We don’t want to have a big debate about marijuana this or that because we have a giant problem in this country with drug addiction, and I don’t want to send a confusing message, particularly to people like my young daughters about, ‘some of this is right and some of this is wrong.’ I think it’s all wrong.”

Cutting of a follow-up question from the interviewer, Kasich waved his hans in the air and said, “That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Michigan’s presidential primary is being held Tuesday, and WWJ also had the chance to ask Kasich opponent Donald Trump about marijuana.

“I never have smoked it,” Trump said without any hint of annoyance about being asked. On the policy issues at play, legalization has “got to be a state decision,” he said. “Colorado did it as you know and I guess it’s very mixed right now, they haven’t really made a final determination. There seems to be certain health problems with it and that would be certainly bothersome.”

But Trump voiced strong support for medical cannabis. “I do like it, you know, from a medical standpoint. Because people are saying from a medical standpoint it does do pretty good things. But from the other standpoint, I think that should be up to the states… Certainly, from a medical standpoint, a lot of people are liking it.”